Council incumbents ahead; Gouge behind in Port race

By Brian Soergel | Nov 09, 2017

It appears that the makeup of the Edmonds City Council will remain the same until at least the end of 2019.

As expected, incumbent Adrienne Fraley-Monillas has a huge lead on perennial challenger Alvin Rutledge to retain her Position 3 seat. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, she had 4,985 votes to Rutledge’s 1,907, or 72 percent to 28 percent.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to serve citizens over the next four years,” said Fraley-Monillas, adding that the revitalization of Highway 99 and providing affordable housing there is her No. 1 priority. “I want to make sure nothing gets in our way of finishing that project.”

She also praised her opposition.

“I do appreciate Al Rutledge’s participation in the process. But it’s clear that citizens have made up their minds.”

In the race for Position 1, incumbent Kristiana Johnson also had a big lead. She’s tallied 4,238 votes to challenger Josh Thompson’s 2,604, or 62 percent to 38 percent. Thompson led all candidates in fundraising.

Mike Nelson, the incumbent who holds Position 2, did not face a challenge.

School District

In the race for Edmonds School Board Position 4, Deborah Kilgore has a substantial lead on Cathy Baylor. Both Lynnwood residents are running for office for the first time.

Kilgore has 10,362 votes, or 59 percent, while Baylor has tallied 7,140, or 41 percent.

“It looks very positive for me, and I am feeling confident that I'll be the next director for District 4,” Kilgore said. “Equity, of course, is of great interest to many in our community. As I've said throughout the campaign, I look forward to bringing on-the-ground diverse perspectives of kids, parents, teachers and staff to these high level discussions about how to most effectively close opportunity gaps.

“I'm also specifically interested in ensuring that all middle- and high-school kids have access to a broad range of academic pathways that take them beyond high school to college and/or well-paying work, and engaged citizenship in Washington state.”

Port of Edmonds

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, two of the three incumbents running to retain their commissioner seats at the Port of Edmonds had leads.

For District 3, Bruce Faires had 2,194 votes, or 55 percent, to challenger Lora Petso’s 1,802, or 45 percent.

For Position 5 – an at-large position – Steve Johnston had 2,203 votes, or 55 percent, while challenger Susan Paine tallied 1,768, or 44 percent.

Longtime incumbent Fred Gouge was losing to challenger Angela Harris in a close race. He had 1,926 votes, or 49 percent, while Harris had 2,036, or 51 percent.

Fire District 1

There was one race, for Position 3 in Fire District 1, which serves Edmonds. Incumbent David Chan, who in March was caught on a hot mic making racist remarks – which he later apologized for – is losing to 28-year-old challenger Michael Ellis, a Mountlake Terrace police officer.

The race is separated by only three votes.

Ellis has 5,753 votes, or 49.85 percent, while the 66-year-old Chan has tallied 5,750, or 49.84 percent.

Although the district serves Edmonds, residents are not permitted to vote for commissioners. Fire District 1 recently merged with the Lynnwood Fire Department and is now called South Snohomish County Fire and Rescue.